Game developers borrowing ideas from one another isn’t uncommon in the games industry, and it can even lead to some memorable innovations, but one shameless rip-off of Blizzard Entertainment’s Overwatch may have taken the practice too far.

Paladins: Champions of the Realm is a first-person, arena-based “champion” shooter in which players duke it out over objectives with a selection of different characters offering various abilities. Admittedly, Overwatch was hardly the first to pioneer this general format, but the degree to which Paladins specifically mimics Overwatch is cringe-worthy.

The most egregious copy-and-pasting is found in the hero design, and for those that may have missed some comparisons in Paladins‘ above open beta trailer, here is a breakdown:

0:01 ? Soldier with standard assault rifle, dressed in blue, and sporting a scar on his face (Soldier: 76)

0:03 ? A hero wielding a handheld, pistol-like weapon and looking very much like the bringer of death (Reaper)

0:08 ? A young, spunky female, dressed in blue with a large cylinder carried on her back (Mei)

0:12 ? A large character dual-wielding a hook-chain and shotgun grabs an enemy from distance and pulls them close for a blast to the face (Roadhog)

0:15 ? While this doesn’t appear to be the same character as before, this hero shoots blue/white projectiles from a pistol-like weapon full of blue liquid (Mei)

0:43 ? A short, dwarf-looking engineer with a large beard, a shotgun, and a turret (Torbjörn. Oh, come on!)

The list of confirmed characters along with other details on the game can be found on Paladins‘ official website where the similarities continue to astonish.

The game’s developer is listed as Hi-Rez Studios, makers of Smite, but it would be fair to say Blizzard should probably get a co-design credit for Paladins. The game’s open beta is now available on Steam, so gamers can go find out if the gameplay is as similar to Overwatch as it seems.

About Nick Plessas

Nick didn’t start gaming until mid-2006. Once his parents finally allowed a console into the house, it was all uphill from there. Starting out with a PS2, he grew an affinity for Sony consoles and moved on to the PS3, and now the PS4. He keeps his gaming palette wide, but, gun to his head, he’d have to say shooters are his genre of choice. Find him on Twitter @idole808

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This Overwatch knockoff is so shameless it’s hysterical

Why settle for just one Overwatch when this blatant knockoff from a high-profile studio means you can have two?

Game developers borrowing ideas from one another isn’t uncommon in the games industry, and it can even lead to some memorable innovations, but one shameless rip-off of Blizzard Entertainment’s Overwatch may have taken the practice too far.

Paladins: Champions of the Realm is a first-person, arena-based “champion” shooter in which players duke it out over objectives with a selection of different characters offering various abilities. Admittedly, Overwatch was hardly the first to pioneer this general format, but the degree to which Paladins specifically mimics Overwatch is cringe-worthy.

The most egregious copy-and-pasting is found in the hero design, and for those that may have missed some comparisons in Paladins‘ above open beta trailer, here is a breakdown:

0:01 ? Soldier with standard assault rifle, dressed in blue, and sporting a scar on his face (Soldier: 76)

0:03 ? A hero wielding a handheld, pistol-like weapon and looking very much like the bringer of death (Reaper)

0:08 ? A young, spunky female, dressed in blue with a large cylinder carried on her back (Mei)

0:12 ? A large character dual-wielding a hook-chain and shotgun grabs an enemy from distance and pulls them close for a blast to the face (Roadhog)

0:15 ? While this doesn’t appear to be the same character as before, this hero shoots blue/white projectiles from a pistol-like weapon full of blue liquid (Mei)

0:43 ? A short, dwarf-looking engineer with a large beard, a shotgun, and a turret (Torbjörn. Oh, come on!)

The list of confirmed characters along with other details on the game can be found on Paladins‘ official website where the similarities continue to astonish.

The game’s developer is listed as Hi-Rez Studios, makers of Smite, but it would be fair to say Blizzard should probably get a co-design credit for Paladins. The game’s open beta is now available on Steam, so gamers can go find out if the gameplay is as similar to Overwatch as it seems.

About Nick Plessas

Nick didn’t start gaming until mid-2006. Once his parents finally allowed a console into the house, it was all uphill from there. Starting out with a PS2, he grew an affinity for Sony consoles and moved on to the PS3, and now the PS4. He keeps his gaming palette wide, but, gun to his head, he’d have to say shooters are his genre of choice. Find him on Twitter @idole808